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‘Sup KeePers?
I has a question.
Just yesterday I had this crazy cool idea for an allegory, and I’m thinking about making it into either a short story or a small novella depending on how much gold I find at the bottom of the rubbish pile. 😛
But I’ve hit a head-scratcher already. (And I haven’t even had the idea for 24 hours. Oi.)How do you handle Christ Characters? (Characters meant to represent Christ)
Should they always be perfect, just like Jesus?
Or is it okay to have them just represent Christ in the one area you want to draw attention to? (i.e. they are Christ-like in their forgiveness, or show sacrificial love.)
Is it even possible for a Christ Character to be a well-rounded character? Possibly even the protagonist of the story? Because, as weird as it sounds, I can’t seem to picture my protagonist as being anyone besides my “Jesus character”.
What are some specific example of Christ Characters in fiction? I think I’ve heard that Gandalf and Aragorn are both CCs to some extent…?Also, if you need more info on the idea I can try and give it, but 18-hour-old stories tend to be a bit vague. 😛
Finally, any general input, or advice on creating/writing Christ Characters would be much appreciated. 😀Ta,
Gracie
@Kate-Flournoy @that_writer_girl_99 @aratrea @Winter-Rose @Daeus @Ethryndal @Mariposa @Hope @Dragon-Snapper @Northerner @anyone-and-everyone (And if anybody knows others that may have experience in this area, please, feel free to tag ’em. 😉 )*is probably geeking out about something*
@graciegirl Oh dear. I confess I know nothing about this.
The only input I have is Aslan as a CC…
@mark-kamibaya You know anything about this? (see above post)☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀
@graciegirl You see, the problem is, I’ve got one of these characters floating around in my head that I intend to create a book out of and I don’t want to tell you how to write that exact character. 😛
But here’s how I think one creates one of these characters. First, it starts with a thorough understanding of the gospel. I don’t mean what happened on the cross, I mean the mechanics of how a sinful person could legally be made righteous. So you need to understand how Christ was actually able to pay for our sins. He didn’t just die, somehow he transferred our sins upon himself and suffered for them. And then you need to ask yourself what was going on in the background. The bible doesn’t say this explicitly, but it’s implicitly quite evident that the main suffering Jesus endured was not physical, but spiritual. After all, the punishment for our sin was eternal damnation and suffering on the cross doesn’t come even close to that.
Those two are the basics. There are plenty of other questions like why Jesus had to be a spotless sacrifice. Make sure to think through these as well. I also think it’s okay to fill in some of the blanks with guesses. For instance, the bible doesn’t say this, but I personally think that Jesus suffered the full sum of our eternal punishment within the space of three days. I think this was possible because he was outside of time. I think this is probable because I don’t see any reason to believe that Jesus only suffered part of the punishment that our sin was supposed to merit.
Your first step is to understand these mechanics as well as possible. Once you do, your goal is to reimagine the details while still keeping the mechanics as unaltered as possible. For instance, could all the steps necessary for our salvation be played out by more than one person working together to create the whole unified salvation work? Maybe. I haven’t thought it through. That could be an interesting one.
Another thing to consider is that you don’t have to create an exact gospel story. You could tell a symbolic gospel story. For instance, in The Wingfeather Saga, the “gospel story” is about these humans who have been turned into beasts getting turned back into humans. They aren’t technically saved from all their sins ever, but their “beastness” represents sin nature, so in a way they do get completely healed.
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@graciegirl Oooo, yes. *grins* *rubs hands* I definitely think a Christ figure can be a well-rounded character in His own right. Even a main character, if you do it right. Part of it depends on the depth of your allegory and if you are making a certain point or if you are presenting the gospel story itself. Even then, the point is to present things in a new light so making him different, like a healer on the streets of a steam punk type world or the bard who seems to match several prophecies, yet fulfills none of them the way he is expected to (both are from my own stories, so no touchy. XD ) certainly steps things up.
Of course, if you have a Christ figure, you wouldn’t have him do things wrong, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have likes or dislikes or preferences or emotions (even Jesus wept, laughed, and got angry) or anything else a good character has. Or, even, that what he does will be viewed as right by those around him. They may not understand until later why he did what he did. Remember, you’re writing an allegorical figure based on Christ. It isn’t as if you are presuming to write Him, Himself. You are focusing on a theme or part of the truth and you are presenting it in a new light to bring those truths across. My favorite kind of allegory is the kind that is so skillfully hidden, you don’t see where it is going until suddenly the larger picture opens up before you.
Waking Beauty did this wonderfully. One doesn’t even know if the person who turns out to be the Christ figure is good or bad until a ways through the book, and you don’t realize what he is supposed to be until near the end.
Eli is another great book. It’s a modern retelling of the Christ story as if it were an alternate universe and He came in the 2000s. I was leery about the idea, but the author handled both the character of Jesus and the idea very well.
INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.
I do not know how to write a Christ-figure, but Deaus and Hope Ann seem to have a pretty good idea. My friend’s and my co-writing project is going to have some sort of a Christ-figure as well, but we’re not up to that yet, so we haven’t figured out all the details.
As for other Christ-figures in fiction, there is, of course, Aslan of Narnia. I also know of Elon from Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight. And the Prince of the Kingdom Series by Chuck Black.
I was interested to see you comment that Gandalf and Aragorn could be, and I wouldn’t have considered that before. Tolkien disliked allegory, and he didn’t write any on purpose, but that doesn’t mean aspects of it couldn’t have sneaked into his stories. I suppose Gandalf is like the sacrificial aspect, and Aragorn is like the king claiming his rightful throne. I’ve also heard that Samwise could be considered a Christ-figure, but I’m not so sure how, apart from his unconditional loyalty and love towards Frodo.
Currently reading Les Miserables
@Graciegirl, @perfectfifths the Christ figure in Tolkien discussion is a very interesting one :). He did say he disliked allegory wherever he smelt it. But he also said that, not during the first draft, but in the revision, LotR was a consciously Christian and even Catholic story. He did say he liked what might be called applicability, the way fiction mirrors real life, as opposed to allegory, where everything is a direct on-to-one correspondence. So Gandalf and Aragorn and even Sam could have similarities to Christ, without being Christ figures — because they’re simply good people. To be holy is to bear Christ’s image, so it stands to reason that good characters would be like Him in some way. (And anyway, Sam’s fondness for potatoes kind of ruins the whole idea of him being a CC.)
I have nothing for allegories, sorry.
You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3)
@graciegirl I’m not sure if I’m the best person to give advice on this subject since I don’t write allegories, but here are some of my thoughts. I personally think when a person/figure represents Christ they should be flawless like He was, mainly because it might give people the mistaken notion that He wasn’t perfect. Wouldn’t a sinless protagonist better represent Christ?
Hope this helps and best wishes on your new story idea!
You guys are the bestistest, you know that? XD
@Daeus
Those are really good thoughts on what Jesus suffered. And, great point: think it through. I will. In fact, I know where I’m gonna look first. I just finished reading through Hebrews the night before last, and I was blown away by how it laid out the reasons for why Jesus had to die on the cross. I guess it’s time for a more in-depth study.
Thanks so much for the advice!
@Hope
Ha, don’t worry. I’ll keep my distance. XD But those ideas really sound awesome.
Thank you for the input! All those points you made are extremely helpful. 🙂Remember, you’re writing an allegorical figure based on Christ. It isn’t as if you are presuming to write Him, Himself.
Exactly what I needed to hear.
@Perfeectfifths @Northerner Yeah, I don’t exactly remember the full reasoning behind the idea that Aragorn and Gandalf are Christ figures. XD My teacher mentioned it in a class I took on The Hobbit, like, 5 years ago so my memory is a bit fuzzy.
Although, on the topic of allegorical elements from LotR, my favorite is the Denethor/Aragorn one. Denethor is the steward, but he acts like he’s the King. And then Gandalf comes and calls him out on it saying he should be doing everything he can to prepare for the coming of the King, not pretending he is the King.
My dad pointed that out to me one day when I was little and I remember being stunned. “Wait, you can do stuff like that with stories? Hide other stories inside?!” XD I have to admit I never trusted the face value of anything in LotR ever again.
@Mariposa Yes…if my character was literally going to be Christ with just a different name, I would agree. He should be flawless.
But I was wondering if having a character that highlights one of Christ’s flawless traits but is still sinful was an option. I was very wary at first about making him perfect because, when talking about characters and readers, their relatability is found in their fallibility, right? How would people be able to relate to someone who is perfect? But then I remembered Hebrews 2:18 “For because He Himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”, and Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who, in every respect, has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” And now I see that he’s not unrelatable because he’s perfect, because he was tempted and tried like we all are, it’s just that, in the end, he never gave in to sin.
Sorry, that was real long. In the end, yes. He’s going to be like Hope said. He won’t do bad things but I still give him a personality. (I’m just talkin’ to myself and offering me some advice on my own thread. XD Thank you for being my sounding board.)
Once again, thanks everyone! I think I have a clearer idea of how to try this now! 😀*is probably geeking out about something*
@graciegirl I’m glad we could be of some help 🙂 And I’m glad you’ve got a clearer picture now. Let me know how it goes! 😀
Currently reading Les Miserables
@GracieGirl *sniffs* I’m late and now they’ve said everything… *sobs*
One tip though— it is possible (maybe even advisable) to focus only on one aspect of Christ instead of trying to incapsulate everything He is. For instance, you could choose to focus on Christ the Servant. Or Christ the Judge. Or Christ the Outcast. Or Christ the Teacher. Or Christ the Son. Or Christ the Man. THERE ARE SO MANY OPTIONS. Pick whichever one works best for your story and develop that aspect most.
@Kate-Flournoy *hands tissue* There, there. 😛
Thanks so much for chipping in! <3
*is probably geeking out about something*
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